Justin Trudeau says fans booing the Star-Spangled Banner won’t stop

Players from the United States should get used to hearing the Star Spangled Banner booed on Canadian soil.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday morning that the jeering of the U.S. national anthem at sporting events across the country isn’t going anywhere after President Donald Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian goods.

But Trudeau wants the players from the USA to know this stance by Canadians has nothing to do with them, it’s all directed at the decision by Trump to go ahead with the tariff on Tuesday night.

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“We’re probably going to keep booing the American anthem,” an emotional Trudeau said during a news conference on Parliament Hill.

“But let me tell Americans, we’re not booing you, we’re not booing your teams, we’re not booing your players. We’re booing a policy that is designed to hurt us.

“We’re insulted and we’re angry. But we’re Canadian, which means we’re going to stand up for each other, we’re going to fight and we’re going to win.”

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The booing of the anthem across Canada originated in Ottawa before a Feb. 1 game against the Minnesota Wild because, at that point, Trump was talking about placing tariffs on goods from this country headed to the United States.

Since then, it has taken on a life of its own and, even after announcements at the Bell Centre to “respect the anthems” at the 4 Nations Face-Off last month, fans loudly booed the Star-Spangled Banner when it was played during the tournament.

It is not just hockey games at which the U.S. anthem is being booed, either. During WWE’s Elimination Chamber on Saturday night at Rogers Centre in Toronto, it was booed heavily by the more than 38,000 fans in attendance prior to the big event.

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The anthem also has been booed several times at Toronto Raptors games.

More to come…

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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